Water Position Statement

Background: The economic viability of Santa Cruz County and its businesses depends on the availability of an uninterrupted supply of water in all hydrologic conditions. The infrastructure necessary to deliver that supply must be maintained and continually improved to promote safety, welfare and commerce. The supply of water and the capacity of the water treatment and delivery system must be sufficient not only for today’s population but also for future growth. Limiting growth through constraints on water supply in an environment prone to drought is a strategy that threatens the community’s economic vitality, quality of life, and, in extreme drought, the health and safety of residents. Such a strategy should not be tolerated.

Circumstances: The sources of water in Santa Cruz County have been essentially the same since 1972. Virtually every water system in Santa Cruz County is plagued with the same two problems: aging infrastructure and inadequate supply for drought conditions. Even with the development of new water supplies through the construction of the proposed 2.5 million gallon per day desalination plant, the supply will not be sufficient to accommodate reasonable growth.

The urgency of the water shortfall is clear:

The existing infrastructure is insufficient to accommodate even the modest growth projected in the City of Santa Cruz's General Plan adopted in 1993.

Proposals for development contained in the Draft General Plan currently under consideration and the University's pending Long Range Development Plan cannot be implemented until the water supply is increased.

Overdrafting of the wells South County has led to seawater intrusion into coastal aquifers; efforts to improve the management of these resources have been stymied by political deadlock.

Depressed groundwater levels in Mid-County are a precursor to seawater intrusion – a critical situation for a system that is dependent almost entirely on wells.

The North Coast, which relies primarily on groundwater, also faces declining groundwater levels.

While the impact of climate change is not clear, one very possible scenario is reduced average rainfall in Santa Cruz County.

All of the water agencies are vulnerable to some degree to drought conditions. In particular, the City of Santa Cruz, serving from mid-County to just south of Davenport, takes most of its supply from surface water — local streams and rivers. It has adequate surface supplies for its current needs, but only under normal rainfall conditions. In drought conditions it faces serious shortfalls.

To varying degrees, water agencies in the County have relied on conservation efforts to stretch available water supply. Particularly in the City of Santa Cruz and Soquel Creek Water District, conservation efforts have resulted in per capita use in the residential sector that is among the lowest in the State.

However, current successes in implementing conservation measures significantly limit the ability of the community to respond to drought emergencies through further reduction of water use. An important element of water policy in this environment is a well-informed electorate that understands the limits of conservation under these conditions. The absence of "excess capacity" jeopardizes the health, safety, and well-being of both residents and businesses.

The Chamber supports the development of a seawater desalination facility that is a joint effort between the City of Santa Cruz and the Soquel Creek Water District, to augment their existing resources. While seawater desalination is a more costly supply alternative to operate than others that have been considered in the past, it has the advantages of being drought-proof. It is not substantially more expensive to build than other alternatives and, most importantly, it has the support of Santa Cruz City Council and the Board of Directors of the Soquel Creek Water District, offering the best chance of being permitted and built in a reasonable time frame of any of the current alternatives. In addition, the proposed desalination facility has the potential to be expanded at some future time — a relatively straightforward process technically, and more economical than the initial phase.

It is time to direct energy and resources to this issue. The Chamber acknowledges the complex environmental, geological, political, financial, legal and technical issues surrounding water supply and services, and also appreciates the exhaustive long range planning efforts already undertaken by both the Santa Cruz and Soquel Creek water agencies. These agencies are to be commended for their willingness to engage in mutually beneficial collaborative projects. Current conservation efforts must be accompanied by the development of new water supplies and the continual improvement of water infrastructure to secure our safety, welfare and commerce.

Position Statement: The Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce supports current and future actions that:

Protect and preserve current ground water supplies including steps to prevent, stop, or reverse seawater intrusion.

Maintains existing sources including the preservation of surface water rights.

Maintain and improve the infrastructure to minimize water loss, protect water quality, and optimize its distribution

Increase the supply of water to:

Protect water users from the impacts of catastrophic drought, and

Provide water supplies sufficient to accommodate future growth and appropriate reserve capacity for business and community needs.

Encourage continuation of the collaborative efforts and research of the various water districts within Santa Cruz County to better integrate water resource management policies and distribution systems.

Continue exploration and development of seawater desalination alternatives as proposed by the City of Santa Cruz and the Soquel Creek Water District.

Engender broad, flexible, diverse, and politically feasible approaches to solving water needs which may include off stream water storage, finding new underground water sources, and expanding uses for reclaimed and recycled water.